Can I Get my Money Out of Thailand?

[NativeBob]

binance account >p2p USDT > cold wallet >p2p>voila!

[Mike Lister]

4 hours ago, Alldar said:

How can you get FET form? Just go bank and ask one? Are they required to produce it for you? I believe it is not so easy to get.

Yes, either an FET or any sort of advice notice informing you of the transfer.

[Mike Lister]

2 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

Does the bank keep the original FET to prevent you from re-using it at another bank?  This doesn't seem like a very secure method of restricting export of foreign currency.  The implementation makes me think this is merely a bank policy not an actual government restriction.

The banks are agents of BOT who carry out BOT policy, they just want to see something that shows the money wasn't earned in Thailand and that should be taxed. I went through my files and I've got over 10 mill. of credit advice notices/FET's covering the past decade whereas I've got much less than that in the banks here. Most people will be similar I think, hence it shouldn't matter if they keep the notice.

[mania]

On 6/26/2024 at 9:51 PM, Mike Lister said:

I said I would respond as soon as UOB Bangkok replied to my query:

 

The simple answer is, as long as you have an FET (or equivalent) in your name, dated any time and from any Thai bank, they will transfer the funds overseas once again. All they want to see is proof that the funds originated from overseas in the first place.

Yes that has always been true & I did i fact have enough FET's to support what I was withdrawing but, again it seemed to prove what others told me that if transfer out of Thailand was  kept under 50k USD nothing was not asked for except reason "to put on transfer"

 

But that aside I always thought it a good idea to get them when transferring in a good amount by any means. After transferred in & within the next month I would go to Bangkok Bank & ask for a copy of that Trans /FET & they never questioned it or charged for the paper.

[Mike Lister]

6 hours ago, Alldar said:

How can you get FET form? Just go bank and ask one? Are they required to produce it for you? I believe it is not so easy to get.

Not true. FET stands for Foreign Exchange Transaction form, in practise, any official advice or notification form used by the bank to confirm the transaction, will suffice. Ask and you shall recieve.

[MartinL]

3 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

Not true. FET stands for Foreign Exchange Transaction form, in practise, any official advice or notification form used by the bank to confirm the transaction, will suffice. Ask and you shall recieve.

Do you know, Mike, if that mean I can go to my bank and ask for an FET for ANY transfer into Thailand at any time in the past (maybe within reasonable time limits)? Or must it be obtained at the time of transfer?

[Mike Lister]

1 hour ago, MartinL said:

Do you know, Mike, if that mean I can go to my bank and ask for an FET for ANY transfer into Thailand at any time in the past (maybe within reasonable time limits)? Or must it be obtained at the time of transfer?

I suppose you can, as long as you can prove the transfer took place. If you can prove that, the question arises why you need the FET anyway? An FET is nothing more than proof the transfer took place, any credit advice will do the job.

[HauptmannUK]

Back in about 2017 my wife decided to invest in a hotel-restaurant in the UK, in partnership with a UK-resident Hong Kong lady she knows. Obviously this involved the transfer of tens of millions of THB to the UK.  I don't how she did it because she was in Thailand and I was in UK at the time. In any case I try to keep out of her business dealings. Possibly the money went via HK.  As an aside, my wife owns a couple of condo and also small businesses in Thailand and in 12 years I have never known her pay tax on income. In fact I don't think she even has a tax number. No idea how that works....but it does make me wonder how taxing foreigners will go.

Just after Covid a Thai guy I know bought some flats in the UK (student accommodation actually) as an investment. I was peripherally involved because I went to look at them for him and dealt with the initial contact with the UK estate agent. No idea how money was transferred, but it all went ahead ok so clearly possible.

[KhunHeineken]

18 minutes ago, HauptmannUK said:

Back in about 2017 my wife decided to invest in a hotel-restaurant in the UK, in partnership with a UK-resident Hong Kong lady she knows. Obviously this involved the transfer of tens of millions of THB to the UK.  I don't how she did it because she was in Thailand and I was in UK at the time. In any case I try to keep out of her business dealings. Possibly the money went via HK.  As an aside, my wife owns a couple of condo and also small businesses in Thailand and in 12 years I have never known her pay tax on income. In fact I don't think she even has a tax number. No idea how that works....but it does make me wonder how taxing foreigners will go.

Just after Covid a Thai guy I know bought some flats in the UK (student accommodation actually) as an investment. I was peripherally involved because I went to look at them for him and dealt with the initial contact with the UK estate agent. No idea how money was transferred, but it all went ahead ok so clearly possible.

Please post the contact details of your wife's accountant. 

[gamb00ler]

This web page is a little out of date regarding fees but still has useful info.

I think a couple of Thai banks now have a limit of 2 million ฿ instead of 50K US$ on transfers.

 

https://www.moneymgmnt.com/managing-money/transferring-money-out-of-thailand/

 

[Lorry]

8 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

Not true. FET stands for Foreign Exchange Transaction form, in practise, any official advice or notification form used by the bank to confirm the transaction, will suffice. Ask and you shall recieve.

Is a FET the same as a"credit advice"?

[Mike Lister]

1 minute ago, Lorry said:

Is a FET the same as a"credit advice"?

Yes

[Lorry]

16 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

Yes

Thx

[freedomnow]

It used to be that this service for foreigners was restricted then, wasn't it ?

 

Which is why one non-bank company in Bangkok was recommended for outwards remittance ?

[Mike Lister]

21 minutes ago, freedomnow said:

It used to be that this service for foreigners was restricted then, wasn't it ?

 

Which is why one non-bank company in Bangkok was recommended for outwards remittance ?

The Baht has long been a restricted currency that is not freely convertible, the exchange control regulations applied equally to Thai's and non-Thai's. Over the years the BOT has relaxed the regulations to where it is now easier than ever before to export funds. 

 

Non-bank companies in Thailand still need a BOT license to export currency, inbound is of course not an issue. Those non-bank companies are also regulated by the same currency exchange rules.

[timendres]

16 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

We are all waiting to hear how it goes when you do the max transfer many days in a row.

 

I understand that the bank's rules say the daily limit is X.  That doesn't mean they won't at some point stop you from doing it to what they consider to be too frequently.

 

That is a fair point. If the amount of money is so large that it raises eyebrows, then either that money is not legitimate, or it is (say you have a high paying job for 10 years in Thailand, or a condo investment paid off big after many years). In the latter case, I am sure that walking into a bank, and enduring several hours of nonsense, would provide a reasonable means of moving that money. In the former case, might I recommend BTC?

[Mike Lister]

5 minutes ago, timendres said:

 

That is a fair point. If the amount of money is so large that it raises eyebrows, then either that money is not legitimate, or it is (say you have a high paying job for 10 years in Thailand, or a condo investment paid off big after many years). In the latter case, I am sure that walking into a bank, and enduring several hours of nonsense, would provide a reasonable means of moving that money. In the former case, might I recommend BTC?

If the money is proceeds of a property sale, the blue receipt showing tax paid, from the Land Office, will confirm that. If however the proceeds are from work legally performed in Thailand, the work permit will confirm that. All that remains is inbound FET's and money obtained illegally, you can see why the banks want to see something that confirms the source.

[Lorry]

2 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

If the money is proceeds of a property sale, the blue receipt showing tax paid, from the Land Office, will confirm that. If however the proceeds are from work legally performed in Thailand, the work permit will confirm that. All that remains is inbound FET's and money obtained illegally, you can see why the banks want to see something that confirms the source.

Strange. 

You got a FET when you bought your condo. 

You sell the condo and can send the funds abroad without showing this same FET?

And you can then use this FET to get other funds out of Thailand,  eg 800,000 if you want to leave forever?

[scoutman360]

Bangkok Bank app. No problem up to ~1 mil bht/day. Bottom right "more services", "International Transfers". Chose "personal use" option. Can only transfer during banking hours. 

[n00dle]

1 minute ago, scoutman360 said:

Bangkok Bank app. No problem up to ~1 mil bht/day. Bottom right "more services", "International Transfers". Chose "personal use" option. Can only transfer during banking hours. 

 

 i thought this was for folks with work permits. I had an ex who used to TT half her salary out monthly using Bangkok Bank 

[jas007]

When I left Thailand for the states in 2019, I still  had money in K Bank that I could access with the ATM card.  So, that’s how I left it.  If I needed cash in the States, I just used my Thai ATM card.  I think I could take out the equivalent of 30,000 baht each day or for each transaction. I eventually transferred most of the money that way, but left some in the account to keep it open.  Once COVID ended, I returned to Thailand and wired the money back to my Thai account. 

[DrJoy]

On 6/18/2024 at 5:51 AM, Mike Lister said:

That's around 1.8 mill baht per day. Can you tell me:

 

1) Is that just you or can all customers do the same?

 

2) Do you have a prior arrangement with your bank where you supplied them with paper work etc?

 

TIA

 

 

For me the limit is USD 100,000 a day in KBank

 

No paperwork asked or provided

[Mike Lister]

54 minutes ago, Lorry said:

Strange. 

You got a FET when you bought your condo. 

You sell the condo and can send the funds abroad without showing this same FET?

And you can then use this FET to get other funds out of Thailand,  eg 800,000 if you want to leave forever?

Yes, odd indeed.

[swissie]

On 6/17/2024 at 2:58 PM, Mike Lister said:

With so many changes in the pipeline and anxieties running hot, many people must be wondering what their options are so let’s look at the detail.

 

The Baht is Not Freely Convertible.

 

Which means THB can’t be freely exported in large amounts. As a general rule, the Thai banks will convert THB into the currency of the destination account, before it is sent outside Thailand. There are however some exceptions and even then there are limits:

 

1) Money earned in Thailand under a work permit can be remitted overseas, subject to confirmation by the employer that the funds were indeed earned legally.

 

2) Proceeds from the sale of real estate can be remitted overseas, as long as the person can produce the blue tax paid receipt from the Land Office.

 

3) Thai nationals can remit money overseas as long as the purpose of the remittance meets  specific criteria set out by BOT, mostly as long as there is an overseas invoice to be paid.

 

https://www.kasikornbank.com/en/international-business/global-money-transfer/pages/international-transferviakplus.aspx

 

4) THB can be taken out of the country in cash but this is limited to 50k Baht, except to neighbouring countries where the limit is higher and to some Chinese provinces where the limits is around 4 million baht. In any event, amounts of cash above the exporting threshold, must be reported to Customs at Departure, regardless of the currencies involved.

 

5) Limited amounts of THB can be remitted overseas, in line with the above, as long as the receiving account is also denominated in THB. It should be noted that overseas banks are not allowed to hold more than relatively low levels of THB in cash.

 

6) The other point worth mentioning at this point is that whilst THB is traded on international markets, it is not traded for delivery.

 

All those things are well and good, but what about the foreigner who has lived in Thailand on a long term visa and suddenly decides to return home and wants to repatriate accumulated funds that were originally sent here from overseas?

 

In theory, as long as there is an FET or equivalent confirmation that the funds were originally remitted from overseas, it should be possible to produce that and ask for the funds to be repatriated. In practise however, this may not be as straight forward as it should be. The banks concern is that the money you want to repatriate, might have been earned illegally (or worse) and/or that tax has not been paid on those funds. For the most part, when those funds were remitted to Thailand originally, the reason stated for the remittance was probably, “living expenses” and the expectation is that they will have already been spent, living.

 

The banks are not the decision makers in this, they are the agents of BOT who must carry out BOT policy. There is nothing in the BOT regulations to say that foreigners cannot export funds overseas, the Central Bank rules only talk about controls on exporting THB, not foreign currency.

 

In the past I’ve been able to remit a few hundred thousand baht (equivalent) overseas without difficulty, just by saying I need it for holiday spending. But I’m not sure what would happen if one day I walked in and, having sold my car et al and wanted to remit say 4 or 5 million back home again, what would happen?

 

Perhaps if anyone has any experience of the above, they might tell us what happened.

 

I have read the above with interest. Amazingly, few Farang investors will ever get the chance of reading this.

The urge to invest something in Thailand would be greatly diminished. (the obstacles for "safe investing" in Thailand for a Farang are too numerous to mention here).
For starters: An investemnt in a country where the currency is not "freely convertible" represents a fundamental weakness of an Economy.

[ruby1]

On 6/18/2024 at 4:01 PM, Issanman said:

I have moved money with my Bangkok Bank app via Swift code to my Schwab account. I had no problem moving 700,000฿.  No questions asked. No papers to fill out. The money arrived the same day. Not sure what the limits are, if any.

How many times have you done this?